Perfect the art of drafting an international contract

Following requests, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is launching an advanced training programme in international contracts, to be held in Paris on 7-10 October. Led by a panel of experts, the interactive programme will cover negotiating and drafting key clauses, dispute resolution, and cultural and legal approaches.

The new annual event, organized under the auspices of the ICC Institute of World Business Law, follows the success of ICC’s annual training in international contracts and takes a more in-depth look at the topic.

“This is an opportunity to perfect the skills needed to negotiate and draft sound international contracts, avoiding crucial mistakes,” said Kristine Karsten, Partner, Vista Law, France, and Council Member of the ICC Institute of World Business Law, who will chair the training. “Small working groups will guarantee participants benefit fully from the guidance of leading experts in the field,” she added.

Working in groups of approximately 10, participants will tackle a mock case involving a multi-party contract and will negotiate and re-draft specific clauses of the contract. To ensure interactivity, the total number of participants is limited to 40.

Sessions will kick off with an overview of common mistakes and examples of frequently pathological clauses. The first two days will focus on negotiating and re-drafting, and applying legal theory to the mock case, while the third day will cover methods of dispute resolution, financing and managing cross-border contracts.

On the fourth day, a three-hour brainstorming session will give participants a chance to raise issues they face with international contracts and share advice and experience.

“The training will be held in a truly international, multi-cultural environment, and will emphasize the importance of understanding cultural and legal differences,” Ms Karsten said.

To facilitate communication and networking a social programme will complement the training over the four days. Sessions will be held in English and French with simultaneous translation.

The training will be of interest to legal directors and corporate counsel from companies involved in international trade, practising lawyers, legal practitioners advising international trading companies and business people involved in international trade and dispute resolution.